(Untitled)

[secondstosirius]

Characters: Hikaru Sulu + OPEN
When: 36 hours after the Riot
Where: On the road.
Rating: PG-13
Description: Hikaru Sulu looks at his broken house and remembers Manzanar, and how he needs to learn to breathe.

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[transwarp_beam]

Halfway back to town, he'd more or less given up hope on thumbing a ride, keeping his head down and his hands in his pockets as he walked along the side of the road in the bitterly cold air. As such it came as a surprise when a car trundled to a halt rather then speeding on by him; he turned in time to see the driver-side window rolling down. Muttering a fervent prayer of thanks he walked back towards the car. "Alright, mate?"

[secondstosirius]

Hikaru started, looking at Scotty guiltily. He hadn't even noticed him there, not when he had been focusing on the road in front of him, on getting out and away from that town. With a sigh and a halfhearted smile, he shook off the surprise and leaned back against his car seat. Of course he knew this guy, everyone knew each other to some degree in this town, but he couldn't for the life of him remember his name. All he knew was that he was Jim Kirk's friend, and he was the last person he cared to think about right then.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just...do you have a cigarette?"

He needed to get out of his car, needed to relax.

[transwarp_beam]

"Aye, sure." He was running low on smokes, but it was a small price to pay for a ride into town; he fished a battered packet out of an inner pocket and held them out; "Help yourself."

[secondstosirius]

With a quick thank you, Hikaru got out of his sister's car, slamming the door maybe a little too hard. He took the cigarette and searched his pockets for his lighter, sighing when he realized it was back home, in his desk drawer. Smiling sheepishly, he held out the cigarette and asked for a light.

One more obstacle to getting a good, relaxing smoke in the fresh air.

[transwarp_beam]

"Just a second." Scotty tucked his own cigarette behind his ear for safekeeping and shoved the pack back in his pocket. Shrugged off his backpack; it hit the ground with a heavy thump and a jingle of metal. Rolling his shoulders in relief, he produced a book of matches from yet another pocket and struck one, holding it out for Sulu to light his cig.

[secondstosirius]

"Thanks," Hikaru said quietly, lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag, leaning against his car and staring up at the sky. This was what he needed, air and nicotine. Even if he rarely smoked, it did serve to calm him down some. He was silent for a moment, lost in thought and the taste of tobacco before turning to smile as best he could at Scotty.

"Your name's Scott, right?"

[transwarp_beam]

"Aye, that's me," he agreed, lighting his own cig. He shook out the match and tossed it away, rocking back on his heels and contemplating his boots as he took a drag; free hand ghosting over his pockets, always in motion. "An' you're Sulu." It wasn't a question.

[secondstosirius]

"I am." Taking another long drag, he sighed through his nose and closed his eyes, his lips tight. "Hard to believe you're talking to me after what happened," It was people like him who had done this to them. The normal people, the white Americans who wanted a perfect utopia free of people who were different on paper, even if he was just like them.

Except Scotty wasn't an American, was he? And he was talking to him. Maybe he needed to stop being so quick to judge. Maybe he was more like them than he wanted to admit.

[transwarp_beam]

Scotty blinked, a little taken aback. Rubbed a thumb absently over the scab on his split lip and said with a wry grin, "You'd be surprised." A little awkwardness in the air now...but he supposed there was no harm in trying his luck; the worst that could happen was that he'd still have to walk the rest of the way. "Any chance'a a ride int'town?"

[secondstosirius]

"Hm? Yeah, sure. Just...give me a minute,"

He couldn't get back in that car, not now. Besides, it was his sisters, and getting ash on the inside was a no-no. She didn't smoke for a reason, and that reason was her biological clock. Somehow she had gotten it into her head that it would be bad for any future baby she might had, and it had stuck. Really, that was silly.